


taking courage (or the one where everything happens at PAX)

by trashheap



Category: Banana Bus Squad
Genre: Angst, First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, H2OVanoss - Freeform, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, Oblivious!Evan, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, but serious fluff, like I don't know where this is gonna go but there WILL be fluff, more characters may appear, oblivious!Jon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-19 05:40:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7347406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashheap/pseuds/trashheap
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having experienced many conventions before, Evan Fong was pretty well versed in what tended to happen at most of them. He'd meet his fans, play some games, go to a few parties and hang out with some familiar faces.</p><p>He didn't realise just how different things could be with the addition of an unfamiliar one.</p><p> <br/>This convention was going to give Evan the opportunity for something he'd started to believe he would never get. He just has to make sure he doesn't screw things up along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When You Least Expect Them

**Author's Note:**

> Summary is terrible. This fic will be terrible. It's my first for the fandom and the first in a long while. I hope you all don't hate it, even though it's not beta-read. It's a slow burn fic and will be multi-chaptered. 
> 
> I can't guarantee when the updates will come, but they WILL come.
> 
> I love this pairing and have done for a while, but I'm lazy and that's why this has taken me so long to get around to. Let me know in the comments if you think I should just give up and scrap this trash.
> 
> Also I apologise for any mistakes, horrible writing no-no's and/or anything else that might annoy you guys.

The important things always happen when you least expect them to; something Evan finds out first hand as he lounges around in his hotel suite in Seattle, two days before PAX West is scheduled to start.  

He’s just stepped out of the shower when his phone starts ringing obnoxiously in the next room. Sighing to himself, Evan wraps a towel around his waist and wanders over to his bed where he’d chucked his phone earlier. He glances at the display, not really intending on answering until he sees Luke’s name flashing across the screen. Evan grins and picks up the call, one hand still holding his towel up.  

“Hey, what’s up? Have you made it to Seattle yet, slowpoke?” Evan quips, stepping over to the wardrobe to find something to wear.

“Yeah, dickhead, I just got to the hotel. I’m going up to my room now,” Luke’s voice echoes a little and Evan assumes he’s in the lobby downstairs. He changes to holding the phone between ear and shoulder whilst he sorts through his clothes.

“Gimme five and I can come down and help you cart your stuff up. I know you pack heavy,” the asian man replies, dropping his towel to pull on some clean underwear and a pair of jeans.

“Don’t worry about it, dude, I got this. I’ve actually just sent something up to you. Call it an early Christmas present.”

“Aw, Luke, I never knew you cared.”

“Joke’s on you, bitch. The present ain’t from me, it’s from Delirious.” Luke replies, sounding strangely smug.

Evan pauses at the tone of Luke's voice, but a grin is already starting to grow on his face. He loves it when Jonathan sends him presents because they’re always things that mean something _more_. Well, more to him at least. They're things that reminds him that Jon cares; that he pays attention to all the dumb, little things that Evan tells him and remembers all their conversations, however inane.  

“Oh yeah? What’d Jon get me this time? I hope it’s that life-sized teddybear he’s been threatening me with ever since I teased him about losing the first one he got for me when I moved house.”  

As he’s talking, Evan hears someone knocking on his hotel door. He pulls on a shirt quickly, not wanting to give the staff a fright and jogs over to the door. “I think that present is here. I’m super excited dude. Just gimme a clu—“ he stops talking when he opens the door to find a man standing on the other side, holding onto the handle of a small suitcase and completely sans staff uniform. He hears Luke laughing on the other end of the line and frowns, confused.

“Luke shut up, it’s not the present. There’s someone here. I’m gonna have to call you back, man.”  

“I’m pretty sure you won’t be calling back, but hopefully I’ll see you tonight at dinner. Have fun, Evan.”

Evan hangs up the call, a little confused by Luke’s parting words, but he smiles at the stranger nonetheless. “Hi there. Uh, I'm sorry, but I think you’ve got the wrong room,” he says politely, and somewhat sadly because the guy in front of him is…well, kinda hot.  

The other man grins, wide and toothy; looking up at him with bright blue eyes as he replies in a voice so familiar it makes Evan’s chest _ache_. “Nope, I’m pretty sure I’m in exactly the right place.”  

The breath catches in his throat so fast that Evan almost chokes on it, but he manages to pull himself together long enough to grab this man, who isn’t a stranger after all, by his shirt and drag him forward. He wraps his arms around him so tight he’s sure he must be closing to cracking ribs, but he can’t stop himself because it’s _Jonathan. Jonathan’s_ here and he’s winding his arms around Evan in response and holding on just as hard; desperate almost.

  “Jon,” he whispers, turning to hide his face in his friend’s neck. “I can’t… you’re really— you’re here…i’m so—“ Evan tries hard to get the words out, but he can’t think through the loop of _he’s here he’s here he’s actually here_ dancing around his head. He thinks Jonathan gets it anyway, because all of a sudden there’s a hand stroking through his hair and gentle reassurances being whispered right back.

They pull away from the embrace at the same time and Evan instantly wants to put his arms around Jonathan again; partly because he’s afraid he might be dreaming and Jon will just disappear if he doesn’t hang on. Because Jonathan’s always been elusive - hard to hold onto, like smoke. They’ve been friends for years now, more than friends even, but this is the first time Evan’s even seeing the other man’s face. _A_ _nd_ _god, what a face_ , he thinks. 

“I can’t believe it’s you,” he finally manages to choke out, sounding a lot less calm than he was aiming for.

Jon grins wider somehow and steps closer to him, reaching out a hand to grip his shoulder. “Yeah, it was a mission and a half keeping this quiet. I was _this_ close to telling you so many times, Evan, but I wanted it to be a surprise."

 Evan realises that he’s staring like a creep, but hearing Delirious’ voice in person rather than over Skype or phone calls is mesmerising, and so he feels justified in losing himself for a moment. That, and his friend is staring right back at him with the same kind of awed expression Evan knows is showing on his own face.

He manages to break away from the staring contest long enough to grab the suitcase Jonathan had left in the hallway, an action used mainly just to give himself a minute’s breather. When he turns back with it, Evan sees his friend still watching him openly; blue eyes focused on every move he makes. He lets go of a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding and he steels himself for what’s turning out to be a far more interesting convention than he’d originally thought…


	2. Feels Like Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> …and that’s when the giant zombie clown jumped out from under the bed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's chapter two. I'm surprised even one of you actually asked for this. 
> 
> I have no idea how long this is gonna be, but I'm pretty sure it's gonna be my longest fic yet. I've already got like the next 12 chapters planned somewhat.
> 
> Like I said, more tags and characters may be added. I'll see as I go.
> 
> And once again - all mistakes and writing no-no's are all mine.

Jonathan knows he’s not making any effort to control himself; that he’s practically glued himself to Evan’s side, but he thinks he can’t be blamed or in any way held responsible for his actions.

It’s been two hours since he showed up at the door to his friend’s hotel room and he and Evan haven’t moved more than a foot away from each other. They have, however, managed to make their way to the couch in the front room. Evan has been animated the whole time, talking about everything he can think of and grinning at him with a smile as wide as the one Jonathan’s sure is pasted across his face, too.

 _I wish I could stop staring at him like a jackass_ , he thinks to himself as his eyes drift down to Evan’s lips again; something he hasn’t been able to stop them from doing every few minutes no matter how hard he tries. It seems as if staring at Evan is taking up all his brain-power too, because he hasn’t contributed more than twenty words to the conversation for the last while — far more content to let the sound of his friend’s voice surround him; all syrupy smooth like honey.

“…and that’s when the giant zombie clown jumped out from under the bed and started punching the shit out of you because you haven’t paid attention to anything I’ve said for the last five minutes. Seriously Jon, am I boring you?.”

It takes Jonathan a few seconds to realise that Evan’s asked him a question and is now staring at him worriedly. He shakes himself from his thoughts and smiles shyly at his friend.

“No way, you know you’re not boring. I’m sorry man, I was a million miles away.” He nudges his friend playfully. “You of all people should know how easily I get distracted, but you could never bore me.”

His words seem to do the trick and Evan is beaming at him once more. The younger man reaches out and paws at Jonathan, pushing his face away gently with the palm of his hand and a soft, _“sap”_.

Before Evan can take his hand back, Jonathan grabs at it, lacing their fingers together and pulling their hands down to his side. He hears a soft gasp from the other man and looks down at their intertwined hands, holding his breath and waiting for the inevitable tug of Evan pulling away.

His anxiety starts to gnaw at him in the silence that follows, but Evan’s hand still lies in his so Jonathan risks glancing up to check his friend’s expression and is shocked when he finds Evan’s face only inches from his own.

“It’s weird having you here…being so close when you’ve always felt a million miles away. But what’s even weirder is that, honestly?” Evan grins at him before continuing. “I expected if I ever got to meet you that you‘d turn up on my doorstep in a hockey mask.”

Jonathan jerks his head in the direction of his suitcase. “I did bring the mask. I just thought you might get a fright and deck me if I showed up at your door wearing it with no explanation.”

The laugh that Evan emits is loud and deep and Jonathan can’t help the giggles that bubble up out of him in response.

“Yeah, that probably would have scared me a little. Alone in a hotel room, stranger at my door wearing a hockey mask. Not really what you want at four in the afternoon on a Wednesday.”

Jonathan nods sagely. “I figured that it wouldn’t go down too great and well, I kinda wanted this to be perfect, you know?”

Evan takes a deep, slow breath and raises his other hand to cup Jon’s cheek. “I don’t think it could have ever been anything but perfect. I feel like I’ve waited for this, for you, for far too long to care about details.”

Without even thinking about it, Jonathan finds himself leaning in towards his friend. He feels weirdly exposed. Evan’s voice is soft and the thumb now stroking the swell of his cheek feels scarily intimate, but Jonathan has never been able to fight the pull he’s always felt whenever Evan is involved and he feels it then. He notices the way Evan’s eyes flick down to his mouth, now inches from its target, before closing his own and crossing the last gap—

_“Hey Evan, can you hurry up and end your one on one time so the rest of us can finally see Delirious for ourselves, you selfish asshole?”_

They pull apart guiltily, cheeks stained red as Brock’s voice booms through the door. Jonathan giggles nervously, his whole body coiled tight with disappointment and embarrassment and his ears ringing. He glances at the door and then back at Evan as other familiar voices start joining Brock’s.

“We should probably let them in before they break your door down,” Jonathan hears himself say through the ringing in his ears.

Evan nods, standing up from the couch and heading over to let the others in, but he pauses and looks down at Jon with a mischievous smirk. “Go hide in my bedroom and put your mask on.”

Jonathan snorts and shakes his head fondly before moving to do exactly that. As soon as he’s hidden himself behind the door to the hotel bedroom, he hears Evan open the door and his friends pouring inside the front room.

Nogla was the first to speak up; something that didn’t really surprise Jonathan at all, but it did make him smile to hear the irishman’s voice so close and, for once, not through the tinny speakers of his computer. “Okay Evan, where the hell is he? We were promised one Delirious. Ye’ can’t just keep him to yerself.”

“Look guys, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Delirious never said anything to me about coming to PAX. He’s not here."

The smile in Evan’s voice is really obvious and when the other men start protesting loudly, Jonathan takes it as his queue to jump in and come to the rescue.

Peeking around the door, Jonathan notes how Evan’s standing against the far wall so that all their friends are facing him with their backs to the bedroom. He counts all his friends one by one. Daithi, Brock, Lui, Tyler and Brian; they’re all there and it scares and excites him in equal measure. He tiptoes around the door and creeps his way forward until he’s right behind their backs.

Jonathan takes a breath and lets out his most ridiculous laugh — something that morphs into real, hysterical laughter when Daithi, Brock and Tyler all scream like they’ve been stabbed. He waits for them all to take a moment to recover, but their response is almost instant.

Spending years hiding behind his screen hasn’t prepared Jonathan for the feeling in his gut as everyone turns and rushes him. The bright warmth, that starts in his centre and works its way out to the tips of his fingers and toes, fills him as he’s crushed between all of these people who are so important to him and it feels like sanctuary and safety and home.

He glances over at Evan and catches him watching them all; smile soft and eyes crinkling at the corners and Jonathan thinks to himself that this is gonna be the most interesting week of his whole life.


	3. King of the Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Close friends, a nice restaurant, a boat ride and a lot of alcohol. What more could anyone want from a night out?

By the time Luke joins them it’s nearly 8pm and everyone is starting to get hungry. Their excitement over finally getting to meet Delirious hasn’t diminished, but their desire for food outweighs everything else.

Evan’s hovered close by the whole time they’ve been getting to know Jon, but he’s tried his best to stay out of the way of the conversation, accepting that he got the first two hours of his friend all to himself and so maybe he should let the others have their turn. However, as soon as Luke shows up, the rest of the boys remember the time and push and shove their way out the door to get to dinner faster.  

Luke winks at Evan and salutes him as he turns to Jonathan. “You okay? The loving hoard didn’t overwhelm you too much?”

“Well, I’m still standing.”

“Yeah, I guess you are. You want to grab your stuff and take it down to my room?”

Jonathan’s cheeks burn and he shifts guiltily from foot to foot. “Uh, I mean it’s…it’s already here. Besides, Evan’s got more space here and I can see you any time, so I thought…”

“It’s okay man, say no more. I’m boring and Evan’s shiny and new. You guys have a lot of getting to know each other. On that note, I’m gonna head off and catch up with the boys.”

Evan salutes Luke as the older man leaves and turns to face Jon; concern written all over his face. “How are you really doing? They mean well, but that was a lot to take in one go.”

Letting go of a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding, Jonathan moves closer to Evan and rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “I was nervous, I’ll admit, and yeah it was a lot to take all at once, but I think getting to meet you first helped.”

They stand a few feet apart, smiling at each other for a moment until Evan clears his throat, breaking the silence. “So, uh, we should probably get a move on. Don’t want the guys to think we got lost.”

  Jonathan giggles and nods, following Evan out the door and down the hall to the elevator. They pass the the journey with idle chatter and by the time they reach the rest of the group, they’re two blocks away from the restaurant they’d all decided on.

Piling into the restaurant, they all grab a table and crowd around it. Evan squeezes in between Luke and Brock, across from Daithi, Lui and Jonathan, with Brian and Tyler taking the table ends. The conversation flows easily and so does the alcohol. Everyone eats and drinks until they’re all full and warm and when they spill back out into the street they’re all clinging to one another; laughing and enjoying the feeling of being together.

The autumn night is warm and cloudless, perfect for the surprise that Evan had planned for everyone and even more perfect now that Jonathan was there to enjoy it with them. He manages to usher his friends down towards the waterfront with minimal hassle and hardly any questioning so that when they’ve come to a stop at the water’s edge they’re completely surprised at having gotten there and even more shocked to see the 21 foot long boat Evan had hired, waiting for them.

Getting everybody aboard the ship without anyone falling in the water proves significantly more difficult than Evan had foreseen, but they all manage it somehow and after a few minutes of shuffling around and everyone choosing where to sit, they’re off out onto Lake Union.

Manning the driver’s seat, Evan steers them so that they pull out far away from the rest of the Seattle nightlife, and when he’s sure they’re surrounded by nothing but water and each other, he slows the boat and shuts the engine off.

“Raise yer hand if ye think we should vote Evan king of the day.”

Everyone, including Evan, raise their hands and grin at each other.

“It’s hardly an honour to be king of the day when the day only has an hour left in it.”

Jonathan giggles loudly at that and Evan can’t help but beam at him. He gets up from behind the steering wheel and wobbles his way over to sit next to the still-giggling man; dropping down beside him and throwing his arm around Jonathan’s shoulder.

“I’ll accept the honour though, Sir Nogla, and my first act as king of the day is to declare that we should make this an annual thing.” Leaning forward, Evan cracks open a cooler he’d left with the boat company the day before to put in the boat before he and his friends got there. He pulls out a beer and tosses it to Daithi, who fumbles it, but thankfully manages to keep a hold of the bottle. “Not, you know, specifically hanging out on a boat, but I think we should find a way to be together like this at least once a year.”

The rest of the group murmur their agreement, passing beers around until everyone is nursing a drink once more. They settle back in their seats and stare out at the water around them; content to sit in silence for a bit.

Conversation starts up again the further they get through the drinks stash and they talk about everything they can think of, from what’s coming for them that week, to their plans for the rest of the year; from gaming and youtube, to real life and their families.

Finally, when he realises they’re cutting it close to the end of their renting time for the boat, Evan announces that they need head back to shore. He’s met with a round of groaning and protests, but he moves for the steering wheel anyway; finding that moving from Jonathan’s side is a lot harder than he’d like to admit.

Evan spends the journey back to shore trying to sober himself up as much as he can. He didn’t drink too much, far less than most of his friends, but with Jonathan staying in his room, he needs to have a clear head for fear of doing something he’d regret. He likes Jonathan. He’s known this for a long time; since even before he _was_ Jonathan — back when Evan really only knew him as Delirious.

The memory of Jonathan leaning in towards him earlier that day keeps coming back to him; the way it felt like they were both going in for the kiss. _He’s your friend_ , he reminds himself firmly, _and not gay_.

That’s the mantra Evan keeps repeating to himself the whole way to the docks and once he’s killed the engine he feels like he’s got those feelings under control. They’re met by one of the company’s employees who takes the keys from Evan with a friendly smile and gestures at a van behind her, letting him know her company called for it to take them back to their hotel.

Everyone separates at the hotel, the more sober of them taking the stairs, with the stragglers waiting for the elevator; all with promises of regrouping in the morning for a day in the city.

Evan and Jonathan take the elevator up with Luke and Brian and once they’ve bid a last goodnight to Luke, whose room is on the floor below theirs, they stumble out of the elevator and into Evan’s room.

Watching Jonathan wobble his way over to his suitcase and start searching through it, Evan realises that he’s only got one bed and a few uncomfortable couches. As his friend pulls out some pyjamas, he clears his throat and turns away.

“Uh, I should go get changed…” he stutters awkwardly, glancing back to see Jonathan struggling to get out of his shirt. The first flash of skin makes his face flush and Evan turns quickly away once more and rushes into the bedroom. “Whoa, get a hold of yourself.”

He sets about getting changed, himself, and as he’s pulling on some PJs he shuffles himself closer to the bedroom door.

“Hey Jon, I’ve only got the bed and the couch so I was thinking, as the guest, you should get—”

“Not on your life, Evan,” Jonathan’s voice called back to him from the front room.

“Don’t be difficult, Jonathan Smith Connor, I’ll fight you on this.”

Jonathan pushes the door open and leans against the frame, eyebrow raised and face unimpressed. “You know that’s not my name, asshole. It’s your room, you should get the bed.”

“Are we really arguing over this? You could just accept defeat now and take the big comfy hotel bed.”

“I’m not taking the bed. It’s yours. If you’re gonna be a stubborn ass about this then let’s just share,” Jonathan suggested, shrugging at him and, in Evan’s honest opinion, looking entirely too innocent for the idea he’d just proposed.

He watches, open mouthed, as Jonathan strides past him, pulls back the covers on one side of the bed, climbs in and stares at him expectantly. Evan rubs one hand over his face and sighs.

_Definitely turning out to be far more interesting than I thought…_


	4. It's A Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another new face, a day out in the city and a trap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys this is just a filler chapter to bridge from the first night to the city and to add a certain pink-haired little man.
> 
> It's probably terrible, I wrote it all in like half an hour, but here you guys go anyways.

Waking up has never been Jonathan’s strong point. He’s not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination and right now he’s so comfortable he could happily sleep for the next ten years.

Snuggling further into the warmth surrounding him, Jonathan buries his face in the pillow he’s holding onto, sighing heavily in satisfaction. He’s almost completely asleep again, brain lazily wondering what it was that woke him in the first place when his pillow shifts slightly and twists in his arms.

Jonathan scrunches his face up in protest, but doesn’t open his eyes; choosing instead to tighten his grip on the pillow in the hopes that it’ll get the idea and stop moving so he can get back to sleep. It takes a few more moments for his brain to kick back into gear enough that he makes the connection that pillows _can’t_ move and he jerks back; bellowing at the top of his lungs.

“AH! DEMON PILLOW! GET AWAY FROM ME, I KNOW KARATE AND I’M NOT AFRAID T—AH,” he’s cut off as he crashes to the floor, pulling the blankets with him. Panicking, Jonathan twists and turns, trying to escape his blanket prison, but when he hears laughter coming from the direction of the bed, he pauses. He manages to wriggle his head out and peek over the top of the duvet and is met with the sight of Evan’s, _stupid,_ grinning face.

Jonathan’s eyes narrow and he manages to free himself, scrambling to his feet. He pulls the blanket up with him, draping it around himself like a big, lumpy shawl and watches as Evan bites his lip and tries not to laugh. 

Slinking back over to the bed, Jonathan throws himself down beside Evan once more; turning so his back is to the other man.

“You’ve come back here now, have you? Where’s that karate you were gonna use on me, oh mighty Delirious? Weren’t you gonna show your _demon pillow_ who’s boss?”

Evan starts cackling again and Jonathan decides enough is enough. He pounces on his friend; hands going for Evan’s sides. Tickling is a dirty trick and Jonathan would recommend it every time, because the second his fingers start poking and prodding Evan’s laughter cuts off and he starts choking out protests; shoving at Jon uselessly.

“Laugh at me, will you?” he huffs out, smirking down at Evan as the other man writhes and whines. “I’ll show you, Vanoss.”

“No, Jon, no I’m sorry, please—” Evan’s wheezing is hilarious and adorable and Jonathan can’t help but give in. He rolls off Evan and onto his back beside him, turning his face to the side to watch as his friend tries to calm down and get his breathing under control.

“You’re an asshole,” Evan pants, glancing in his direction before twisting onto his side to pout at him.

Jonathan gasps teasingly and throws a hand over his heart. “I was just defending my honour, sir,” he replies. “You were the one besmithcing the Delirious name.”

“Besmirching."

“Be-what-what?

“Be- _smirch-_ ing the Delirious name.”

“Whatever.”

Evan rolls his eyes at him in what Jonathan decides is fondness _not_ exasperation. 

“Don’t roll your eyes at me. You started it,” he mumbles, reaching out to pinch Evan’s arm lightly. His phone trills loudly from the bedside table behind him and he sighs, rolling away from the other man to answer it. “What’s up, Cartoonz?”

“Holy hell you’re actually awake before noon, it’s a Christmas miracle.”

“It’s not Christmas and I was forced awake by a demon,” Jonathan answers, slapping blindly at the man behind him when he hears Evan snickering.

“Well whatever it was, it’s time to get up. The van taking us into town will be downstairs in half an hour, man.”

Jonathan groans loudly in response, hanging up on Luke and curling into a ball.

“What did he want? Do we have to get ready to go?”

When he gives no response, Jonathan feels the bed shifting as Evan climbs out and heads for the bathroom. “Van’ll be half an hour,” he calls out. “I want a shower so be quick or I’ll sneak in and turn on the cold water.” He hears even more laughter ringing out from the bathroom as the door closes and the shower turns on.

It takes nearly the full half hour to get them both showered and changed and they end up rushing downstairs to meet the rest of the gang who are all lounging around the lobby in various states of exhaustion. They’re greeted by a round of muttered hellos and before they can settle into one of the lobby couches, Brian motions towards the van that pulls up outside with a sad groan.

The group march out of the lobby and over to the van, but they’re cut off by a streak of pink and the sound of Tyler yelling as he’s tackled to the ground by someone with very bright hair. Everyone crowds around and Jonathan stares down to see Tyler with a Craig shaped octopus wrapped around him.

“I see you’ve gone back to the pink hair, Mini,” he says, eyeing it skeptically. He leans back a little when Craig turns and locks onto him; eyes narrowed and suspicious. “See how long it takes you t—“

“DELIRIOUS!” Craig’s voice sounds like a war-cry as he jumps to his feet, tugging Tyler up by his shirt. He points straight at Jonathan, face shocked and mouth wide open. “Guys—it’s—I don’t even—what the shit?” Craig latches onto Jonathan just as he had with Tyler, who stands behind them and lets out an indignant “ _Oi”._

Eventually the others manage to tear Craig off him long enough for them all to climb into the van before the pink-haired man attaches himself to Jonathan’s side again. He eyes Evan pouting in their direction and grins to himself as the van trundles them off towards the centre of Seattle.

Getting to know another new person is just as exciting as meeting the group last night, but thankfully a lot less stressful as Jonathan only has one person’s questions to contend with this time. He and Craig chat non-stop the whole way into town and he’s glad he managed to avoid drinking just that little bit too much the night before because when he turns to check on the rest of the group they all look like they’d much rather crawl back into bed than be out exploring the city. The only other lively looking one is Evan, who catches him looking, grins at him and then returns to staring out the window with a soft smile.

Once they reach their destination, the boys pile out of the van and wave off their driver. They discuss who wants to go where and finally, deciding on two very different routes through town, they split the group in two based on who wants what. 

Jonathan watches as Brock, Tyler and Brian drag Evan off in one direction whilst the asian man waves at him with a bemused expression, all with promises that they’ll meet back up for lunch. He sighs and turns back to his group; squinting at the weird, searching looks two of them seem to be giving him.

“I’m taking it that you lot planned this, didn’t you?”

Daithi and Lui grin at him and Jonathan glares back. He glances at Craig who looks as confused as Jon feels, and finally at Luke who just shrugs at him. “Sorry man, I’ve been told to stay out of it. I’m here for moral support only. Beyond that, you’re on your own.”

“Fine. Come on, let’s go and you can get on with whatever it is you two idiots are planning.” Jonathan stalks off in the opposite direction the other group had gone, pulling out his phone and sending Evan a text.

_SOS. Pretty sure we’ve walked into a trap._

He gets a reply almost immediately and grins at his phone. _Definitely a trap. Tyler just asked if I thought you had pretty eyes._

_What’d you say?_ Jonathan flicks off a quick response and glances over his shoulder to see the two schemers whispering to one another as they follow behind him. Luke trails behind with Craig, both of whom appear deep in conversation about something.

_I told him that they were the prettiest I’d ever seen._


End file.
